Photos by Content Volunteer, Zeeba and Host, Rhea.
HOST
CO-HOST
CONTENT VOLUNTEER
Thank you, host and co-host, Rhea and Prachi, for setting up a wonderful meetup. So interesting to hear wonderful stories of dishes which were so local and rooted in our traditions. Looking forward to more LFC Navi Mumbai meetups!
Reshma
I had a wonderful time at the venue Brownie Cottage! Both hosts, Rhea and Prachi, were smash hits and made everyone feel so welcome! They ensured that the evening was full of life at all times.
Babita
So glad to have been a part of Navi Mumbai’s first LFC meetup! I hope there are many more to come as the community is eager.
Shrijan
Unlike the big, chunky North Indian Samosa, the Bengali Shingara is smaller, with a thinner crust and a filling that often combines potatoes with seasonal vegetables like cauliflower and peas.
A Garhwali-Kumaoni classic, Bhang ki Chutney is made by grinding roasted hemp seeds with chillies, garlic, simple spices and lemon juice. It is a traditional condiment that completes a Pahadi meal.
Sambhar Wada, brought by Member Babita, was made Tamil style—spicier, punchier, and far removed from the sweeter versions often found in Mumbai’s local eateries.
MEET YOUR HOST
What does local mean to you?
Moving across different states in India, ‘local’ has meant whatever was rooted in the place I was in at the time. My parents made it a point to introduce us to local fruits and fresh produce wherever we went. Knowing their local names and the seasons they belonged to was very important to them, and has now come to shape how I think about living with respect for the land.
A memory of taste I hold very dear is the first time my dad stopped at the iconic Jain Ki Shikanji restaurant on the Delhi-Dehradun Highway. The taste of that cold and refreshing Shikanji (spiced lemonade) on a road trip was so phenomenal that I have chased it ever since. My second-best memory is when I discovered that they had started selling their signature spice mix.
I’d be a raw mango in summer—sharp, bright, sometimes a little too much on its own, but bringing everything else around it to life.
A bowl of warm besan sheera or custard—warm, soothing, and tied to memories of my mother taking care of me as a child.
As a growing circle of curiosity and friendship, where people come together over food but leave with stories, connections, and a deeper way of seeing their plates—through the lens of histories, geographies, and cultural nuances.